The Story Behind Six of the Weirdest Car Emblems

Snakes? Shells? Ducks?

Car emblems are some of the most famous symbols in the world: the Mercedes tri-star, the Chevrolet bow-tie, and Ford’s Blue Oval. Simple, pleasing, memorable. What to make, then, of companies like Porsche and Cadillac that adorn their cars with wild crests?

Cadillac – It turns out the Cadillac crest long predates the company, which was founded in 1902. Both company and crest took cues from Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a Frenchman who emigrated to the new world in 1683. As it turns out, Cadillac himself made the crest up by borrowing bits and pieces from other noble families: three footless birds (merlettes) representing the Holy Trinity, blue for valor, red for boldness and silver for purity. The crown is just for fanciness, we guess.  

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